DPS seizes $78,000 cash in traffic stop

On its way from Houston to Mission, $78,000 takes a detour into the hands of Texas Department of Public Safety troopers. The cash was seized in a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 59, just south of Fox Road at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Raquel Ibarra, 40, of Mission, was arrested on suspicion of felony money laundering.

Texas Department of Public Safety troopers seized $78,000 cash in a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 59, just south of Fox Road at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday.

A trooper from the Victoria office pulled over a 2007 BMW 530 for a moving violation and noticed numerous signs of criminal activity, said DPS spokesman Trooper Gerald Bryant.

After being granted permission to search the vehicle, the cash was found in a piece of luggage.

Raquel Ibarra, 40, of Mission, was arrested on suspicion of money laundering, a second degree felony, Bryant said.

"If she could have proven how she got the money, it's not against the law to have money," Bryant said. "And the money was carried in a fashion that indicates criminal activity."